ICC says suspect bowling should face more scrutiny

Melbourne: Suspect bowling actions should face more scrutiny, a senior International Cricket Council official said Wednesday, with reporting and testing up for discussion.

Illegal actions were discussed at the ICC`s annual conference in Melbourne, along with the prospect of fields being set to the maximum boundary. "The message out of the cricket committee was there`s enough bowlers with suspect actions that should be being scrutinised, that probably haven`t been," said Geoff Allardice, ICC`s general manager of cricket. "By scrutinised, it just means they`re being tested whenever there`s concerns raised," he told reporters. "At this stage, it`s been pretty quiet for a couple of years. "The cricket committee was of the view there are some bowlers operating with suspect actions that should be scrutinised a bit more closely." The ICC allows a tolerance limit of 15 degrees` bend to the bowling arm -- a relaxation questioned in some quarters. Allardice said the group would look at the issue and make recommendations to the ICC chief executives` committee in October. "Also whether it`s possible to get a panel of experts involved, who are able to detect from looking at footage what is elbow extension and what isn`t," he said. Hopes for in-game testing of suspect actions were still some way off, he said. Suspended Indian cricket chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan is expected to be anointed as the new ICC chairman at the annual conference, which is also set to address growing concerns about corruption in the sport. The ICC chief executives` committee met Wednesday, and Allardice said they looked at the yet-to-be finalised Future Tours Programme (FTP) which will run until 2023. Allardice said the schedule would achieve an even mix between Test and limited-overs forms of the game. "The previous FTPs were done when Twenty20 cricket was in its infancy," he said. "Balancing those three formats has been a bit of a challenge."